


and history books forgot about us

by Lunarflare14



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Bleeding Effect, Empathy, First Kiss, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Slow Build, Snarky Shaun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-21 02:17:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1533947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarflare14/pseuds/Lunarflare14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shaun isn't an idiot. He is good at connecting the dots, like he imagines the men who thought up the constellations--seeing the whole picture in the lines between the pin points of stars.</p><p>So it's pretty easy to figure out that Ezio is head over heels for Leonardo.</p><p>It's a bit harder to realize he may be smitten too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sometimes… Desmond wasn’t all there. Just sometimes. A hallucination here, a slip of the tongue there. They didn’t want to freak him out, so no one really said anything about it. He would come out of the longer episodes dazed. But the shorter ones, everyone just ignored for the most part. They kept a count of how long Ezio or Altair was with them. If Desmond was suddenly not Desmond, count to thirty. If it passed before you got to thirty, Desmond was fine. It wasn’t so bad at the warehouse. Once they moved to Monteriggioni, however, it got progressively worse.

The last time it happened, Shaun had gotten to twenty four.

Other times the episodes were minor. Desmond would slip into speaking Italian or Arabic. Or call Lucy ‘Cristina’ without even missing a beat, like he’d meant to say her name and didn’t notice he hadn’t. He’d refer to himself as Ezio; like he was going to Rome, like he had assassinated those people, like he couldn’t differentiate between the two.

It seemed Ezio had a stronger influence then Altair. Maybe because Desmond was living more of Ezio’s life and spending more time in Ezio’s memories made the Arabic slips fewer and farther between. Whatever the reason, Arabic usually meant trouble. Once or twice, Shaun was sure he heard another language entirely. One he didn’t understand at all. He was pretty sure it was some form of Native American language and he wondered if Desmond’s paternal ancestry was trying to make an appearance as well.

It was all concerning to say the least.

Shaun had been trying not to worry about Desmond. That wasn’t his job. He was just the research and intelligence coordinator. He was hired for his ability to make connections, not his ability to play well with others. Despite that, he had developed a quick tolerance for Desmond. Desmond liked to ask about things that were going on in the time period that he couldn’t see as Ezio. He was really interested in what was going on in the rest of the world at the time; Asia, Africa, the Americas, the rest of Europe.

“I don’t see how any of that is relevant.”

Desmond would smirk as he often did. “Come on, Shaun. You’re always bitching about how I’m uninformed. _Inform me_.” There had been something else in the tone besides light teasing. Shaun only barely registered it because he was off on a tirade about the Ming Dynasty and Desmond nodded and may even have actually been listening for once.

The thing was, Desmond understood—even _liked—_ history, which meant he spent more time talking to Shaun than to Rebecca. The woman often brushed off his personal inquiries and he clearly didn’t understand her techno speak. His initial flirtations with Lucy weren’t getting him anywhere, but Lucy was married to the cause, so that didn’t mean anything. He knew Lucy liked Desmond, though Desmond seemed wary of talking to her about more than the mission.

Desmond also had the habit of staring at Altair’s statue like he couldn’t figure it out, like it was a riddle to be solved. Shaun knew it was just a statue so it probably wasn’t going to spring to life to play magic eight ball for them, but the way Desmond looked at it sometimes, you’d think it could. That if he stared long enough, the answers would come.

One night very early in their stay, Desmond went out for some air like he did every night, wandering around the town, finding old bits of Ezio’s life—he had found the Medici cape and Ezio’s belt already. Shaun figured that maybe it helped, seeing the new buildings and living in the now. One day though, sunrise was fast approaching and Desmond hadn’t returned. When he brought it up to Lucy, she seemed unconcerned.

“Rebecca is working on some delicate programing and I’m waiting on a contact from outside to get back to me. It’s a call I have to take. You go find Desmond.”

Shaun grumbled under his breath about research and data but left for the surface. The fresh air would do him some good regardless. What with their being a price on their heads, one would think Lucy would be more anxious about Desmond’s dillydallying.

Desmond was actually not hard to find. He was standing under a tree in town not all that far from the Villa, staring at a sword in his hands. “Desmond, there you are. Next time you decide to go for a stroll, do remember to be back at a reasonable hour.” But Desmond didn’t respond. Shaun started forward cautiously. “Are you alright, mate?” He begged for it not to be another episode. But there was something off about Desmond’s stance, something in the hunch of his shoulders.

Desmond turned, tears in his eyes. “L-Le-Leonardo.” His voice skipped, almost like a corrupted audio file.

Leonardo? Well that was new and a bit flattering. Shaun started the count.

One...

 “ _Mio zio… Hanno decapitato zio mio. Hanno messo sua testa su una picca_.” He sounded angry. Angry over ghosts.

Seven...

“Oh, Ezio.” Shaun forgot Lucy told him not to talk. When Desmond talked he was super imposing people onto them and it could break Desmond more to try and reconcile the difference. Lucy was one to talk, she was blessed with being the most beautiful girl in Italy to Ezio-Desmond. Then again, Shaun could take being one of the most influential intellectuals that ever lived.

 Desmond was looking at him, so lost and uncertain, but not about what Shaun had said.

Nine...

Desmond strode forward leaving the sword in the Earth to take Shaun’s hands.

“Leonardo, _ho perso così tanto ... cosa farei senza te? Non posso perdere anche te.”_

Eighteen…

“ _Non voglio perderti_.”

“Sentimental bugger, aren’t you?” Shaun whispered, not looking at him. Why were Italians’ so affectionate with their friends?

Twenty five…

Ezio gave him a small smile. Shaun knew it was Ezio simply by the way his face moved. It wasn’t Desmond’s. “ _Cuore mio_.” He brought Shaun’s hand to his mouth and kissed his palm…

Shaun snatched his hands back, and he could see Ezio crumble in Desmond’s eyes. After a second, he blinked once, then twice.

“Shaun?”

“Welcome back.”

Desmond rubbed his eyes. “Jesus, how long was that?”

Shaun winced, his heart still racing. What had Ezio been doing? “About twenty nine seconds. Not to alarm you, but they’re getting longer and we need to get back inside.”

Desmond looked back at the sword he had set down. “I found the sword and I—”

“Ezio… he reacted badly?” And wanted comfort in an old friend. An old friend whose hand he kissed like it was natural.

Desmond sighed, sounding exasperated. “It’s not like he’s always in my head, Shaun. I think… we both reacted badly. I really liked Mario. I wish I had someone like him growing up.”

Shaun’s brain sometimes did this thing. It would start at point A and make the point Q without really stopping in between, which is why he was so brilliant at what he did and why a lot of Desmond’s bleeding episodes suddenly made sense. “So empathy is a trigger? Like when you feel similar things or relate to them. Like déjà vu? Why didn’t you say anything before?”

Desmond shrugged. “I didn’t know. But it explains a lot of things… Like why I called Rebecca ‘Claudia’ the other day. She kind of screams ‘pushy sister’ to me.”

Shaun didn’t let his face reveal anything, especially not that he was only half paying attention. “Come on, I was serious. Dawn is in five minutes. We need to hustle.”

Desmond nodded as they headed back to the Villa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Translations: 
> 
> Mio zio… Hanno decapitato zio mio. Hanno messo sua testa su una picca  
> My uncle... They decapitated my uncle. They put his head on a spike.
> 
> ho perso così tanto ... cosa farei senza te? Non posso perdere anche te  
> I lost so much... what would I do without you? I cannot lose you too.
> 
> Non voglio perderti.  
> I do not want to lose you.
> 
> Cuore mio  
> My heart


	2. Chapter 2

Once back inside the Villa, Shaun delved through every bit of Assassin text he could, looking for references to Leonardo and Ezio. There was a lot of praise for Leonardo’s work, for Ezio’s skill, a lot about the plans for his war machines. Ezio once left him all his worldly possessions when he went on the hunt of Cesare.

Ezio’s private journals were no real help at first. Shaun wondered if there was a cipher. A clue. If there was, Shaun was hard pressed to figure it out. Once he had caught up to where they were in the animus, he began jumping to important dates in Leonardo and Ezio’s history.

He found nothing until he reached May 1519. He realized it would have been faster to check the entries like that from the beginning. The journal was missing a few days at the end of April, and then May 2nd was quite short.

_Mi dispiace. Vorrei che avesse più tempo, cuore mio._

That was the date of Leonardo’s death.

_I’m sorry. I wish we had more time, my heart._

Ezio stopped writing completely not a week later and it was obvious Ezio had only been giving halfhearted entries. But earlier… The way Ezio had spoken to him—to Leonardo.

There had been rumors, not of Ezio but of Leonardo; a hasty cover-up with a known male prostitute, an apprentice who was horrible but Leonardo kept him around, a bunch of sketches of naked men. How many sketches were lost to time? How many had been of Ezio? The team, of course, never really delved into Ezio’s more personal memories because they weren’t relevant and they didn’t have the time to waste.

Academically, dozens of scholars over the past several hundred years would fist pump the air with this knowledge. It wasn’t solid evidence, but he was about ninety percent sure that men didn’t go around kissing their friends hands and calling them “my heart” unless there was something more there.

His Italian was rusty but he knew a cheesy pick up line when he heard one.

If Desmond’s empathy was triggering the events, then being at the Villa was not a good plan. Nothing they could do about it now though.

Desmond finally met Leonardo again in Rome during the war with the Borgia and Shaun decided to finally watch a memory or two. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for in their interactions but he was pretty sure he found it. A hand brush too long, eye contact steady, unyielding. Leonardo would be in deep trouble, being seen with Ezio, but he meets with him anyway. Shaun was tempted to peak at Desmond’s vitals, but resisted the impulse. While Desmond did have similar physiological reactions to Ezio while in the memories, Shaun didn’t want Rebecca knowing he was poking about in places he didn’t need to be.

“Sometimes I dream memories.” Desmond said offhand, hovering over Shaun’s shoulder while Rebecca was tinkering with the animus.

“Anything important pop up?” Shaun missed the potential importance of the statement due to the fact he was translating a text from Latin.

“No just... Sometimes I wish we could go through some of the... less important memories. Maybe someday. After we’re done running after templars.”

Shaun looked up. “Yeah, or you could spend some time in the real world? Hmm? Not living out the life of someone else?”

Desmond rolled his eyes. “You aren’t even curious about how Ezio’s story ends?”

He shrugged, turning back to the computer. “I’ve read the books. Spoiler alert: he dies at the end.”

“You are zero fun.”

“Not true. I’m fun all the time. Or was it sarcastic? Interchangeable, really.”

“You’re lucky it’s your job to read ahead of the class, or I might find you obnoxious.” Sitting on the counter next to Shaun and his intel board, Desmond flashed him this grin that could blind a man. “Does Ezio ever marry?” he asked. Shaun rolled his eyes. “Hey, it’s a legitimate question. He obviously procreated. But does he settle down?”

“Yes, later in his life. He marries a ginger.”

Desmond frowned. “Does he love her?” Shaun awarded Desmond another eye roll. “I mean like he loved— Cristina.”

“I don’t think she was the love of his life. Or his soul mate. Or anything so fanciful. If that is what you’re asking, but they seem happy. She's clever and sweet and gives him a few children.” He tried to wave Desmond off. “I’ll forward you a link to his journals. This feels like school yard gossip this way. ‘Did you hear about Ezio? Oh he had another baby didn’t he? That old geezer still fertile?’”

“Hey, I may not see the end of this story, okay. I’m invested. You can’t blame me for wanting to know if there is a happily ever after.”

“I don’t have anything for the last five years of his life or so. He stopped journaling. Fell mostly off the grid. We know he died in Florence but that’s about it. Pretty sure he had a grape farm or something.”

Desmond frowned. “When did he stop journaling?” Shaun froze. “I mean Ezio loves that stupid journal…”

“Oh, mid-May in 1519. I think he was getting arthritis but I have no evidence of that.”

“That’s just... not like Ezio. He’s always scribbling in those journals. Leonardo got him in the habit when they met again in… Rome.”  Desmond's sentence trailed off, which had Shaun turning toward him. He looked not completely there and Shaun held his breath, ready to start counting. “When does Leonardo die?”

It looked like Desmond could put two and two together. Shaun considered lying but Desmond would read it in his face. “...Early May, 1519.”

For a brief second, Desmond looked completely distraught. As quickly as it came, it went. “Oh... yeah, I guess I’d... yeah...” He hopped down off the counter but wobbled on his feet.

Shaun was on his feet and steadying Desmond before he could think about it. “Are you okay?”

“Was I—was he there? When he died, was Ezio with Leonardo?” There was desperation barely contained behind the words. He was fighting it and losing.

Shaun’s grip on Desmond’s arm tightened a bit. At least he wouldn’t have to lie. “Yes. Of course. Him and Machiavelli both went.”

“ _B-b-b-bene_.” Desmond cut him off nervously, his voice sounding glitched once more. “He’d want to be there.”

“Desmond?”

“I’m fine—”

“You don’t look it—“

“ _Feqlet ana bekheyr_!” The shout was loud and angry and now the girls were staring. They had been pretending not to notice before but now they were definitely staring. Arabic was never a good sign.

Since the girls weren’t moving, Shaun stood and began pushing Desmond toward the stairs. “You need some air and you aren’t going alone this time. You’ll get stuck in your head. And everyone knows that leads down a dangerous path.”

It wasn’t hard to maneuver the assassin up the stairs and into Mario’s old study where they could stand by the door and feel the night air. The surroundings seemed to ease Desmond a little. The study was a mess and looked nothing like what it once was. Desmond was shaking a little. “It’s never been like that,” he whispered. “It’s never felt like that. Since you mentioned it, I’ve been trying to keep my emotions distant but Leonardo? I’m starting to think Ezio would react to Leonardo even if I didn’t care.”

Shaun squinted. “What do you mean?” Sure, he was convinced they were secretly madly in love but did Desmond notice anything?

“When I—when Ezio meets him in Rome, it’s different. Ezio is different.” He was looking at Shaun like an accusation. As if Shaun had known and had been holding out on him. Shaun was only holding out on a _theory,_ but from the look on the younger assassin's face you'd think he was keeping a life changing secret from him.

“There were…rumors.” That was all Shaun could say for sure. _Cuore mio._ Well not _all_. “And a journal entry. One of the last Ezio writes. It… well, it calls Leonardo—“

“ _Cuore mio_ ,” Desmond finished for him. He was looking at his hands, lost in thought. “His heart. He called him that once, in one of my dreams. I didn’t think about it much, I mean, Ezio flirts with anything on two legs most of the time. It didn’t seem odd and Leonardo didn’t seem to take it seriously either.”

“I don’t think it’s anything to have a crisis about though.”

“I’m not—it’s really sad. Ezio eventually marries and settles down, right? He settles down without Leonardo.” Desmond sighed. “I’m starting to be able to tell when I’m feeling the bleed and when it’s me. I’m sad—Ezio is devastated but I’m just… really sad.”

“You wanted to know how it ends.”

“I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry. And… I’m sorry I yelled. In Arabic. Altair lost somebody like Ezio just found out he lost somebody and the emotions in here are all sorts of mixed up, Shaun.”

“It’s alright.”

Desmond chuckled softly. “It’s not. But I’m happy you understand. I—Altair wasn’t angry at you. Anger is just a primary emotion with him.”

“But why would Altair get caught up in the mix.”

“It’s how he felt when Maria—it’s not important, but Altair goes straight on the defense when it comes to emotions.”

“But you’re sorting all this out right?”

“Yeah… the talking about it helps.”

For a moment Shaun didn’t understand. He heard the words but the meaning really didn’t click. “ _Oh_. Oh, right. Well, I’m good at talking.”

“I noticed.” But Desmond was smiling again. And while the tone suggested good natured mocking, his expression was nearly affectionate.

“Huh, okay, I’m not going to gush on about it like either of the women folk might." Rebecca would punch him so hard if she heard that joke but he was under a weird sort of pressure to get words out of his mouth that he didn't fully understand. "But you can still—you know—talk to me. If you want to—”

“I want to.”

The words just kind of sat in the air a minute while Shaun wondered how this all became so bloody awkward. He shouldn’t have offered. He was shit at feelings. But Desmond’s quick response was… well, it wasn’t terrible so far, and Desmond needed someone to talk to. “Good. Then, shall we rejoin the party? Or would you rather sit up here and brood some more?”

Desmond smiled, lazy and carefree like his brain wasn't tricking him into thinking his ancestral memories were his own and that he was in a different time and place entirely. Any amount of awkward stumbling was worth that. "I'm coming down."

Shaun nodded and led the way. As they approached the door to the stairs Desmond kicked something.

“What’s this?”

He stopped, watching as Desmond bent and picked up the object. It was a large old book. One Shaun recognized right away. “Claudia’s ledger.”

Desmond smiled at it fondly. “She had the neatest handwriting I’ve ever seen.”

“Compared to your chicken scratch she might as well have been a computer font.” Shaun watched Desmond closely, but no traces of anyone else slipped in around the edges. That was all he could ask for at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Bene is good.
> 
> Feqlet ana bekheyr  
> I said I'm fine... 
> 
> At least I think that's how you put it in our alphabet. My beta and I don't speak Arabic so... yeah it's close. usually they negate the vowels or something but eh. If you DO know arabic lemme know?


	3. Chapter 3

For the next few nights, they had a new routine. He and Desmond would wander the streets of Monteriggioni. Shaun knew he had things he should be doing but Lucy had decided whatever Desmond needed to stay sane, Desmond got. They don’t always talk about Ezio and Altair and the crazy mix up of memories inside Desmond’s head. More often they talk about nothing. They spun philosophy of existence, what the clusters Subject 16 left behind meant, why the human race was engineered by those who came before. Desmond sometimes talked about “the Farm”; Shaun very often went on about conspiracy theories he’d investigated in his youth.

At first Shaun thought that Desmond had some top secret motive, a hidden agenda, because _conspiracies_. But somehow, Desmond seemed to genuinely just want to talk. To talk to _Shaun_.

“I think Ezio didn’t truly realize how he really felt about Leo ‘til Rome,” Desmond said one night. The last Animus session had been the last of Leonardo’s war machines coming down and Leo had left the Borgia for good.

“Why the sudden interest in Ezio’s love life?”

Desmond was looking up at the Villa, lost in thought. “I guess with all the uncertainty in our mission, focusing on Ezio’s life is easier than focusing on my own.”

“Ah, classic escapism then.”

“Yeah.” Desmond shrugged. “It’s weird but oddly comforting. You probably don’t see it but around Leonardo? Ezio feels like a bumbling mess. Of course, he maintains his assassin grace, but he feels like a mess and it makes me feel better. Ezio, the original Casanova, is capable making a fool of himself. It’s kind of hilarious.”

“Not developing an inferiority complex are you, Dessie?”

“If I did, no one would blame me. Ezio is a smooth motherfucker, and I’m a bum.”

Shaun snorted. “No one would ever think you a bum. Though I admit more often than not you smell like one.”

Desmond was grinning again though, which meant everything—

Something. It meant something, not everything. Shaun needed to sleep. But he wasn’t because these late night talks with Desmond had been _working_. Not a slip since the outburst. Lucy could continue to deny it but the results spoke for themselves.

Desmond squinted at the top of the Villa. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

Shaun frowned. “We’re on the run from a corrupt secret organization with more money and power then we could possibly fathom. Where am I gonna go exactly?” Desmond gave him a playful push, before running up the nearest outer wall of the Villa. “See? You pushed me, which means I already moved!” Desmond ignored him, climbing the wall like an oversized squirrel—a much more graceful squirrel then when they first tested his skill though. He still didn’t have Ezio’s sheer power or regal bearing but perhaps that would come with time. When Desmond reached the top he held something above his head triumphantly. “Get down, you moron. Before someone sees.”

Desmond was back by his side in a flash, holding a medium sized gold box. “Maria’s chest. For those feathers. It was up there in a hole.”

Shaun shook his head. “You’d think these things would be long gone by now.”

“Time is funny like that.” Desmond ran a hand along the carvings on the lid, smiling fondly. “Some things get lost.”

“And you found it.” Shaun smiled warmly.

Desmond was crinkling around the edges. He could see it—Ezio trying to bleed through. It was maddening sometimes, having a gift for details. He had cataloged all three of his colleagues down to the number of freckles—because that was what paranoia did to a man. To be able to see Desmond and Ezio at war made him sound a bit crazy.

So Shaun did the only thing he could think to do. He placed his hand on top of Desmond’s on the box and squeezed gently. “Dez.” Ezio fled almost immediately, as Desmond’s eyes snapped up. Shaun withdrew his hand. “Sorry. I was losing you there, mate.”

“Oh, yeah, Ezio’s happy we found the box. It’s alright. I think he just wanted to hold it a little while and I tried to see if I could… just let a little bit through. It only worked for a second. I could feel my reality slipping.”

Shaun shrugged. “You shouldn’t indulge the voices in your head. People might start to think you’re crazy.”

Desmond chuckled. “Was just trying something different.”

“Course you were. Back in the hole we go. We should get some sleep.”

Desmond got a more secure hold of the box and followed Shaun back into their hideout. “Do you think we’re almost to the end?”

Shaun nodded. “According to the time line, yes. Ezio hides the Apple for good and Cesare has a date with gravity.”

“Great. I can’t wait to be out of the Animus for good.”

Shaun knew there was a heavily implied ‘because it’s turning my brain to slush’ at the end. It made him smile nonetheless. “Me either. I can get back to coordinating field communications and history can become my side hobby once more.”

“Still going to tell me about my ancestor that was a pirate?”

Shaun laughed. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?”

“A lousy one.”

The path to the Apple, as it turned out, was in the Coliseum. And who should be the one that Ezio brings with him but Leonardo. That brought a smile to Shaun’s face. Even if they weren’t ‘bumping uglies’ it was outstanding to see them together. At this point Ezio watched Leonardo like a man completely smitten.

If anyone had told Shaun that their mission would go to hell so quickly after that, he’d probably have believed them because he was always waiting for the other shoe to drop and it would have been nice to have the warning. When they reached the temple, it was massive and beautiful beyond anything Shaun had ever seen. By some miracle the Apple was still where it should be, even after so much time. The map showed itself and they could see the location of the temples.

Shaun turned just in time to see Desmond fall with vacant eyes as he and Lucy hit the ground. “Lucy! Desmond!” Rebecca grabbed Lucy, Shaun went to Desmond.

He flipped Desmond onto his back, cursing madly. Rebecca had a prognosis first. “She’s dead… He stabbed her. She was dead before she hit the floor.”

Desmond’s eyes stared off into the void as the Apple rolled from his hand. Shaun felt his heart stutter. “Desmond. Dez. Can you hear me, mate?” He put his ear to Desmond’s chest and placed his glasses under Desmond’s nose. Still breathing, still beating. “He’s alive. We need to get him help. Call Bill.”

Rebecca made a face. “What?”

“Call Bill he should already be on his way. He’ll send a team back here for Lucy and to close up the Vault. Right now we need to grab Desmond and the Apple and get him out of here. I don’t care what you’ve got against Bill, we can’t do this just the two of us.”  Shaun wasn't the kind of man to panic but even to his own ears he sounded a little panicky. No one would blame him. The case could be made that this was a situation where a bit of panic would be a natural reaction; one of his friends murdering the other in an ancient vault of the First Civilization--not to mention that the murdering friend was now catatonic.

“Fine.” Rebecca reached for the Apple when it was clear Shaun wasn't letting go of Desmond and after a very long moment of not thinking to much about it he nearly had a heart attack.

“Stop!” Shaun took off his outer sweater. “Here. So you can carry the Apple. Do your best not to touch it. One mind sufficiently melted is enough for one day don’t you think?”

“Jesus, man—I didn’t think, shit just got crazy.”

“I know. Let’s just get moving.”


	4. Chapter 4

Before they started for the surface, Rebecca bent down and closed Lucy’s eyes. “ _Requiescant in pace,”_ she whispered before following Shaun up. Shaun kept fumbling to check Desmond’s pulse. Still breathing, still beating. Rebecca put a hand on his shoulder and he realized he was shaking.

“It wasn’t Desmond. He liked Lucy. He… the Apple.” He couldn’t think to form an explanation.

“I know.” And she sounded convinced. Good that they were on the same page. “How you holding up?”

“Not even a little. Lucy just… she just died, literally right before our eyes, and Desmond is unconscious after stabbing her. There is not a single universe or plane of existence where I could even pretend to be ‘holding up’. But Desmond needs us and we aren’t letting him down, not after what we’ve put him through.” After a second he looked at her, realizing that might have been harsh. “What about you?” Shaun asked as they emerged into the Santa Maria in Aracoeli.

“I’m barely standing but like you said, Desmond needs us. There will be time to… say goodbye later.” Rebecca looked like she wanted to say more, but pulled out her phone instead. She wandered away a bit to converse with Bill—Desmond’s father. Shaun was always on the fence about Bill. He was cold and Desmond’s stories about him aligned with the man Shaun had come to know—a hard ass, always asking for too much. Shaun laid Desmond down on a pew near the entrance to the temple. Desmond’s eyes had since closed and he was mumbling. It was barely above a breath and Shaun was pretty sure it was gibberish.

“God, Dez, please be alright.” Shaun pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t you dare die. This is why I don’t do attachments. Entirely your fault, you know… I mean, obviously.” Shaun took Desmond’s wrist. His own pulse was going crazy at this point. Like a monkey was tap dancing on a drum. Desmond’s was erratic at best and barely there at worst, but it didn’t stop.

When Rebecca hung up, she came back over to Shaun.

“He says put him in the animus.” She sounded almost as done as he felt.

“What?! That’s what fried his brain in the first place. Why would we do something as incredibly stupid as that?”

“I told him that and he said he was the expert and we should listen. Bill says to put him in and just believe in Desmond…”

Shaun gripped the back of his head in frustration. “That man is talking about his son!”

“I know but arguing about it will waste time we don’t have.”

His grip on Desmond’s wrist tightened. Everything in him told him that it was a bad idea. There were too many variables. But believing in Desmond? Shaun could do that. “Alright, let’s get him plugged in then.”

“This is crazy.”

“You’re telling me. What choice do we have? Lose them both?” Shaun hefted Desmond back into his arms, the other assassin’s head falling to Shaun’s shoulder without resistance. Well, at least unconscious Desmond couldn’t remark on the nervous patter of Shaun's usually steady pulse. “Not today. I’ll take a stupidly slim chance over nothing.”

They got him back out to the truck and strapped him in just as a team arrived. Bill materialized like a shadow in the back door of the truck. Shaun had a seat on the floor next to the animus, constantly checking Desmond’s pulse. “How’s he doing?”

Shaun sighed. “No longer speaking in tongues, so that’s a start.”

“I forget that sarcasm is how you deal with human emotion.”

“Sarcasm and put-upon sighs, sir.”

This was probably the only reason Shaun didn’t hate Bill. He saw Shaun for who he was, and didn’t try to tell him to get serious. “I’m going to go make sure they close up right. You have the Apple?” Shaun held up the shirt it was wrapped in. It was still glowing gold. “Good. Keep them safe. I’ll be back soon.”

Shaun wasn’t sure but he could have sworn Bill’s eyes stared at Desmond with worry for a few seconds before he closed the truck and left.

“Ugh, something about that guy really rubs me the wrong way. He barely acknowledged Desmond,” Rebecca protested.

“Not all of us are particularly good at expressing emotion, dearie.”

She rolled her eyes. “And you’d know all about that.” The data output that Shaun could see looked erratic at best. “Massive amounts of brain activity. Got to keep all nonessential programs offline so the viewers out. Man what is he doing in there?”

Shaun ran a hand through his hair. “Who knows? He could think it’s the real world, or he could be living out an ancestor’s life, or I don’t know, his brain could be melting. We won’t know unless he wakes up.” Once again Shaun’s brain did several unconventional leaps. “He’s going to blame himself. He’ll think he failed her. That’s why Ezio called her Cristina.”

“What?”

Rubbing his eyes, he rested his elbows on his knees from his seat on the truck. “But how could he know that? How could Desmond empathize like that with something that hadn’t happened yet? Their lives are so tangled and messed up, Becky. That is all sorts of insane!”

When he looked back to Rebecca she looked concerned. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m still in shock. Or denial. I’m probably going to be a mess in a few hours but right now theorizing is all I have. Do you think it was Altair and his gazing into the Apple? Was it a bleed effect of a bleed effect? How could he know? How could he know Lucy’s—?” He buried his head in his hands. “What are we even doing?”

“We’re trying to save the world.”

“I know, but can we? And if we do, what then? Will we be able to push back the Templars? Save the world from itself?” Shaun looked up at Desmond as he lay in the Animus. He could be sleeping if Shaun pretended, and pretending was really all Shaun had at that point. When he next spoke, his voice was softer. “Did Lucy betray us?”

Rebecca whipped around. “What?”

“Why else would the Apple have her killed? Did the Templars turn her? Or did she have some personal motive? Why would an artifact of past, present, and future kill her? Does the Apple have motives? I’m so lost. I am never lost and I am so, so lost. What the fuck is going on?” Shaun checked Desmond’s pulse again.

And held on.

Rebecca remained silent, she looked like she wanted to cry but didn’t.

Bill entered the cab of the truck. “Alright, we’re gonna go lay low. Make the arrangements for the funeral and head to the central temple. Monteriggioni is being watched. We’re heading for another safe house. You leave anything there?”

“Yes, Bill. I left my tooth brush. Vital that we recover it. Might use my DNA to clone me or look back in my family’s history of sheep herding.”

Bill looked to Rebecca, but she shook her head. “Existential crisis,” she said numbly.

The older assassin’s eyes looked from Shaun, to Shaun’s hand on Desmond’s wrist, to Rebecca before he just sighed and drove off. “You two are giving a major debriefing right now. I need to know what the hell happened.”

“It was all routine until Desmond held the apple. Then he stabbed Lucy with his hidden blade,” Rebecca said as she typed away on her keyboard and clicked through some windows.

“Shaun, any ideas?”

Shaun shrugged. “Desmond wasn’t Desmond at the time. I don’t think it was bleeding effect either, because you can see Ezio or Altair’s expressions when one of them is bleeding through. His face was vacant. I think it was controlling him.”

Shaun saw Bill roll his eyes in the rear-view. “And why would the Apple kill Lucy?”

Then Shaun had a thought. “The Apple can be used to control; what if someone used it to control Desmond?”

Bill frowned. “Then it would be a question of who… and how.”

They all fell into silence after that, because no one had an answer to it. They went over a bump that jostled Shaun’s back and made him wince. Rebecca looked up from her screen. “You could ride in front, you know.”

Shaun gripped Desmond’s wrist tighter. “No, I’m alright.”

Bill shot him a skeptic look from the front but no one said more about it. Shaun supposed it was odd, hanging out in the back when there was a perfectly good seat available in the front. Desmond’s pulse was finally stable and the animus was monitoring it so he could potentially let go.

They stopped at a light, waiting for the colors to change when the wrist in his hand twisted. Shaun let go of the wrist, finally letting it lay on its own. Then he watched as Desmond’s hand moved towards him and turned palm-up on its own, fingers flexing infinitesimally. He looked up at Desmond’s face but it was still slack.

Shaun was gripped with the impulse to hold Desmond’s hand. Instead he leaned against the side of the truck.

He could deal with the death of a comrade. They were at war. A silent war fought in the shadows of grand cities, through alleyways and under the cover of dark. He could deal all that, his intellect thrived on the challenge of staying on step ahead. It was what he did. The assassin training gave him strength but it was his mind that had kept him alive all this time—with some minor assistance from Rebecca that one time.

That was before they were holed up together in that giant stone tomb, before Shaun spent his nights listening to Desmond, to his thoughts and hopes and fears and memories. Before he’d done all he could to keep Desmond in the now. To keep Desmond’s focus on him and not on Ezio’s past.

And Desmond wanted to tell him.

_Leonardo._

Rebecca was Claudia, and Lucy was Cristina, and Shaun…

Shaun banged the back of his head against the truck because he was obviously an idiot.

That caused the other two in the truck to startle. “Shaun?” Rebecca asked, concern in her tone.

“Later.” Bill was eyeing him from the front seat and it was like he could smell the idiocy on him, even if he didn’t know why.

And God, Shaun hoped Bill never found out that Desmond had a crush on him because the older man was terrifying. Or worse he could find out that Shaun wanted to _hold Desmond’s hand_.

But was that really such a crime? War was long and messy and they could be captured or killed any moment if Abstergo got a hold of them.

Was it such a crime that for a little while, with Desmond, Shaun was actually kind of happy?


	5. Chapter 5

The safe house was actually in Rome, not that far from the Santa Maria in Aracoeli, but they apparently went in roundabout way to get there, to avoid Templar detection. This safe house was only a pit stop on their journey after all. The entrance was in a little rug shop on the corner behind Palazzo Farnese, leading under the structure itself. It hadn’t been of actual use since World War II and wasn’t ‘on the book’, so the Templars probably wouldn’t come looking. Between the three of them, they managed to move Desmond in through the passage door. It got tight—the passage was centuries old, after all. But they managed to get down to the bunker like accommodations. There was a barracks and a war room off the main entry way that let out into a common area, not as much dust as Shaun imagined. Someone must have maintained it throughout the years.

They rushed the funeral and had it the next day. Shaun went even though he’d only had an hour or two of actual sleep while Rebecca stayed and kept an eye on Desmond. She insisted she had to monitor the animus, but Shaun suspected she couldn’t bring herself to actually attend the funeral. Lucy had been her best friend, and going probably would have hurt more than not. Shaun had liked Lucy, but he never thought he’d miss her. She had been capable, easy to laugh with. The weight of her absence was almost as maddening as Desmond’s. He wasn’t ever going to be able to steal her yogurt again.

The cemetery was small and the day was too perfect for a funeral. The few assassins who showed up didn’t ask questions, only expressed their sympathies. Some Shaun knew in passing, but there was no one he’d ever actually worked with. Bill spoke some words. Overall it was a good ceremony, her grave piled high with Chrysanthemums of all colors. The headstone they’d acquired was a simple cross. No name. Perhaps if there were time later they could fix that.

Considering Shaun hated funerals—they were usually pomp and circumstance for the grieving not the dead and he wanted to be cremated with his ashes dumped somewhere full of life; a street, a park, a country road—this one didn’t leave him as empty inside. He had needed that closure—a goodbye.

When Shaun returned Rebecca was where he’d left her, hunched over her keyboard typing like mad. Shaun put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on him. Anything changes I’ll let you know. Go sleep.”

Rebecca stretched, popping her back. “Fine. But if anything goes wonky—“

“You will be the first one I call. But right now you look a bit manic, all bent over your keyboard, eyes wide. People might think you’ve cracked. We can’t have that. Our plane leaves tonight and I know how you hate sleeping on the blasted things. Go to sleep.”

Rebecca rubbed her eyes. “Alright but then it’s your turn. That comment wasn’t even close to your usual level of snark.”

“Piss off,” Shaun replied. There wasn’t any bite to it.

Rebecca went through the door to the sleeping quarters and closed the door, leaving Shaun alone with Desmond. They’d set up an IV in Desmond’s other arm so he wouldn’t get dehydrated. If the coma didn’t last very long, he wouldn’t need more than that. Bill had insisted they could wait but Shaun did it anyway. No use having Desmond wake up with a migraine, and/or passing out again.

Shaun busied himself with research. Looking at the location they would be searching for the temple.

It had been occupied by the Mohawk tribe until about the American Revolutionary War when they were forced from their homeland, retreating west into Canada. Records of the order were pretty scarce from those early years in the colonies. Luckily there were tons of records kept by the rest of the bloody Yanks—land permits, written accounts, the colonists did love to talk.

“Well the American arrogance is present very early on.” Normally, that was where Desmond would defend them. The mentality of the kind of people travelling or escaping to the America’s was all very similar—desperation laced with a determined spirit. “Most would call it stubborn.” Shaun scowled nearly as if he’d heard the words and tone from Desmond’s mouth. He rubbed his eyes, with a sigh to cover his yawn. “I hope we don’t need you to go back into the lives of any more ancestors. I don’t think I could take it if we have to put you in the mind of some Red Coat killing Patriot prat. I won’t be able to think over the sound of your bloody freedom.”

Shaun imagined he looked much like Rebecca had when he had walked in. Hunched over his own laptop; pulling relevant events, the google maps street view (there were literally no roads with street view where they were going), and everything connected to those events and surrounding locations. “You’ll get a kick out of this,” he whispered with another click. His typing got faster, and he clicked through page after page of internet and database content. By the end, he had a lot of it neatly color coded for his own use, red for most relevant and blue for connected events.

Shaun shut his laptop with a bit more violence then necessary. “Damn it all.” His eyes burned as his throat tightened. “Why haven’t you woken up?” he demanded. The sudden restriction of his airway made the words feel like swallowing glass. “I can’t believe I’m letting you get to me like this. We’re going to need to have a proper talk and that terrifies me; firstly, because I may never get to have it, and secondly because I _may_ , and I’m not sure which one scares me more.” He set the laptop aside to simply stare at Desmond. He wasn’t particularly handsome, and his ethnicity was ambiguous at best—Shaun had every detail of his genetic background memorized so he didn’t need physical characteristics to know.

“I preferred it at the beginning. When you just whined about your circumstances and having to be in the animus all the time. I miss that… I miss you.” Shaun pulled the chair closer to the animus, not even pretending he wasn’t going to talk to Desmond. “I don’t know if you can hear me in there. But the world still needs us. They need us focused and conscious, not lounging about with our heads all messed up. At this point, I don’t think I can do it without—“

Shaun was cut off by the sound signaling someone was entering the base. Hastily putting the chair back where it had been, he reopened his laptop and clicked wildly at whatever bookmark he could in his tool bar, pointedly staring at it until Bill emerged in the doorway. 

The older assassin frowned at him. “You still up?”

Shaun frowned. “Someone has to monitor the animus and make sure we aren’t all throttled in our sleep. Rebecca was practically a zombie when I got back.”

Bill nodded. “Fair point. I have our fake passports and credentials. We leave at six. Go to bed. He’s not going anywhere.” Something in his tone, and the way he looked at Desmond, had Shaun straightening.

It was probably just after one in the afternoon and it was well over twenty four hours since he had last slept, so he was undoubtedly sleep deprived, but Shaun swore he saw bloody disgust laced with _disappointment_. “Good. No sense dilly dallying. Right? Have to press on. Must be inconvenient having your son be literal _dead weight_.” The minute it left his mouth he knew that was unkind. Bill’s face slackened, every muscle going lax in shock then anger. Shaun couldn’t bring himself to care because he understood now.

Instead of the shouting Shaun had expected, Bill was silent.

In that moment, Shaun couldn’t be happier he hadn’t been born into the order. He had known Bill a while, and in that time Desmond had been mentioned offhand once or twice and only when talking about his running away. There was always a bit of impatience there, like Desmond’s concerns as a child had been foolish, that questioning Bill’s wisdom was a crime in itself, when Bill hadn’t offered Desmond any true explanation for why. Yes, the Templars and Abstergo, but the boogie man loses his ability to scare when he doesn’t come out from under the bed. Desmond hadn’t really gotten many answers, and Shaun had learned why pretty quickly when he joined the order. Most of the time, they were flying blind too.

But Bill couldn’t tell his son that, couldn’t be weak in the eyes of his _subordinate_. Bill treated Desmond as more soldier then son. Desmond’s stories of his childhood made a great deal of sense now.

Nothing was ever enough for Bill. Desmond surely hadn’t been.

The anger on Bill’s face slowly dissolved into exhaustion before going blank all together. “I did what I thought I had to. To keep him safe. It wasn’t enough to protect him.” And Shaun knew it wasn’t just the Apple; it’s Abstergo, it’s the world, it’s the apocalypse, it’s the ever encroaching darkness that keeps threatening to swallow them whole. Shaun, feeling a bit guilty, got up to follow the order he’d been given, having been relieved of duty but Bill waved him off. “You want to stay up, go ahead. He’d prefer you being here to me anyway.”

The older assassin went to go to the sleeping quarters. “William.” At his real name, Bill stopped and turned to Shaun. “For what it’s worth, Desmond is a good kid.”

Bill laughed and Shaun almost died inside because he had never heard Bill laugh like he actually found something humorous. “Don’t tell me. I had nothing to do with it.” With a final wave he disappeared through the door to the sleeping quarters. Shaun pulled the chair closer to Desmond again, giving the younger assassin’s hand a small squeeze before opening his laptop to Bejeweled so he’d have something mindless to do with his hands, and began a rant on why Columbus didn’t discover shit. He wasn’t sure if Desmond could hear him, but if he could it would let Desmond know he wasn’t alone.

And the words helped fill the maddening silence between the animus’ beeps. Still breathing, still beating.


	6. Chapter 6

The plane ride was absolutely maddening. They chartered a private jet out of Rome easily enough. Shaun was fidgety. Hours in a cramped space could do that to you. Rebecca was quiet, every once in a while going on a rant about how the animus was just being weird; it was running in safe mode, it shouldn’t be using that much CPU, his signs were all over the place, his brain was going off like a firecracker, she needed a drink, make that two drinks, etc. He understood none of that and Bill wasn’t concerned. In fact the only thing that Bill was concerned about was the Apple. “Would you put that thing down?” Rebecca asked a few hours into their flight. “You’re making me nervous.”

“I have been waiting a long time to get my hands on one of these.”

Shaun squinted suspiciously at his superior. “You do realize how that made you sound, don’t you? Like a possible megalomaniac?”

Bill shrugged. “I highly doubt that it’ll activate outside the temple. And I sure as hell can’t use the thing.” Shawn frowned, but didn’t say anything else about it. Bill looked at Desmond, who was laying in one of the reclining seats farther back in the plane from the table they were seated at. Shaun would describe his face as contemplatively, perhaps even thoughtful. “Were they close? Lucy and Desmond.” Shaun bristled at the sudden change in inquiry and Rebecca sighed. “I mean… Closer than friends?”

Their tech woman shrugged. “There had been a few misty eyed moments in the beginning but—“

“No.” Shaun said, cutting Rebecca off. “Lucy liked him. She told me. But no. They weren’t close.”

Bill studied Shaun for a moment, before looking back at the Apple. “Interesting.” He almost sounded disappointed.

Rebecca frowned deeply. “That’s all you’ve got to say? Interesting?”

“I spent a lot of time training both of them when they were younger. She was a remarkable woman. I just find this whole situation… quite sad.”

Shaun nearly laughed. “Sad? Are you finally getting soft on us Bill?”

It was Bill’s turn to glare. “We should be landing in a few hours. We should try and get some sleep.” He pointed at Shaun. “Especially you. You haven’t slept yet.”

Shaun shrugged. “I’m not tired.”

Rebecca frowned. “There’s nothing we can do at 40,000 feet above the Atlantic and Desmond isn’t waking up any time soon. At least try and sleep.” Shaun opened his mouth to protest. But Rebecca cut him off. “Don’t sass me. Get. Some. Sleep.”

Shaun huffed but moved to one of the reclining seats on the jet (to the one across the aisle from Desmond) and laid back. He wanted to take the seat near Desmond, but he didn’t trust himself to sit there and actually sleep. Instead, he settled for simply having a proper view of the assassin. Shaun hated all the waiting. He wasn’t good at waiting.

Watching Desmond’s chest rise and fall, Shaun was out in a few minutes. If he’d been awake he’d have noticed that Bill was looking between Shaun and Desmond intently, the Apple nearly forgotten.

When they finally landed there was a member of the order waiting for them with new new passports and papers. They were doing experimental gene therapy apparently. It was easy to fool customs, throw in enough scientific terminology and you could fool any normal citizen. They rented out a van to load their equipment in and Shaun got in the driver’s seat with Bill. It was a couple hours to the site from the airport. Rebecca was in the back with her headphones, which left Bill and Shaun to drive in silence. Neither seemed to mind.

They were approaching their destination when Bill finally spoke.

“May I ask you something?”

Shaun raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps. That will depend on the question.”

“You worked with Lucy for quite a while. You helped coordinate her logistical operations while she was under cover in the field.”

Shaun nodded. “I did. That was my job. Nothing in that was phrased as an inquiry, though.”

Bill put a hand on the bag in his lap, the bag that held the Apple. “You knew her. Trusted her.”

“I suppose I did.”

“And you’ve known Desmond for what? A couple months?” There was an accusation in there somewhere. Shaun could tell in the tone.

Shaun snapped back, “Playing twenty questions are we? Perhaps you’d like to play I Spy instead? I always found it the superior road trip game. I spy with my little eye something old and annoying.”

Bill let him finish. “You were very quick to accuse her of double crossing us.”

He scoffed. “I’m quick to accuse everyone.”

“But not Desmond.”

That sent a chill up his back. “From what Lucy reported they weren’t reprogramming Desmond. They were too busy rooting around in Altair’s past. She kept tabs on him as much as the Templars did. She was deep cover. No one at Abstergo knew. Desmond doesn’t have a reason to kill Lucy. He… he liked her.” He sighed. “When the Bleeding Effect started to become too much, Desmond had a break through. We figured out what triggered it and a way that helped rein it in.”

Bill didn’t say anything, opting to just look at him impatiently.

Shaun sighed. “It was triggered by empathy—by Desmond experiencing similar emotions as Ezio or Altair.”

Bill’s eyes went wide. “And why didn’t you mention that sooner? That’s amazing. I don’t know why we never thought of that.”

Shaun scoffed. “Probably because you’re a hard ass and human emotion is well outside your sphere of expertise.”

“And what does this have to do with Desmond’s innocence?”

Shaun shrugged. “Let me finish. We were getting a handle on the Effect. Focusing on the present and on reality helped keep it at bay. I even saw him attempt to control it—allowing Ezio a bit of access to the present. For Desmond it was like Ezio was always trying to grab ahold of the reins. A major part of keeping him literally present was talk therapy. And with Lucy and Rebecca being so busy… I just kind of took up the duty. I also happen to be marvelous at talking. I got to _know_ Desmond. He wouldn’t kill Lucy.”

Bill eyed him for a long time but nodded. “Alright. Guess we’ll know when he wakes up.”

Shaun sighed, muttering, “If he wakes up.”

“Of course he will.”

“You keep saying that. ‘Let the animus do the rest. Desmond will be fine. Keep your eyes on the road. ‘”

His superior made a dismissive gesture. “Do keep your eyes on the road, though. Can’t have the Templars winning because of reckless driving. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Well forgive me if I don’t think Desmond spending more time in the animus can go from being the problem to being the solution in a matter of minutes.”

They pulled up along the side of the road as they reached the site. “Guys!” Rebecca said suddenly. “Get back here! His vitals are stabilizing!” Shaun hopped in the back with Bill close behind. They crowded around him.

Shaun held his breath. Desmond’s head moved a little. “He’s moving!” Shaun leaned forward, essentially blocking Bill from view. “Can you hear? Desmond?” Then Desmond’s eyes opened. He looked around without seeing for a bit before his eyes landed on Shaun. He smiled. Shaun felt every muscle in him relax as he breathed out a sigh of relief. “Dez.” He didn’t think he’d ever seen a lovelier pair of eyes.

“Hey.”

Shaun laughed a little. He had almost given up on hearing that voice ever again. “Hey yourself. You’ve been out awhile. You had Rebecca worried. Your brain’s been off the charts, mate.”

“Yeah, that’s a long story.” Desmond finally looked away to look at his father. “I know what we need to do.”

Bill nodded, before turning and flinging open the van’s back doors. “We’re here.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i just update a fic twice in a seven day period? i believe i did. be proud of me, world.

They entered what Shaun could only assume was another temple. Desmond slid in first, looking around. The place was enormous, all glowing lights and flickering consoles. Shaun shifted the weight of the equipment he carried. There hadn’t been a lot of time between Desmond waking up from his extended nap and entering the ancient place. There was no point arguing with Bill though. Desmond picked up a glowing rock on the ground and, before Shaun could argue the merits of leaving glowing rocks where they were, Desmond put the rock on the console and it lit up like New York City.

“Wow…” Shaun whispered as the door lit. Shaun did a turn to look at it all and when he looked back his heart sank. Desmond was looking around sporadically. “Desmond?”

Turning, Desmond looked at Shaun but his eyes didn’t focus on him. He smiled a bit sadly, muttering, “here we go again,” before he crumbled in on himself.

“Des!” Shaun caught him before he hit the ground. “Desmond? Can you hear me?”

Bill rushed forward. “Let’s get him in the animus.”

Shaun growled. “Is that your answer for everything? Throw him into the animus? Fuck off and let me check him—“

“We have to get him in before the link severs! I will not have you jeopardizing this mission with your sentiment!”

Shaun leaned forward, voice full of venom as he hissed, “When will his sacrifice be enough? When he’s dead?”

Rebecca chimed in. “When you’re done with your pissing contest the animus is up and ready for him.”

Bill glared at Shaun, their discussion clearly not over. Shaun looked down at Desmond, and he knew his whole being must have softened because Bill’s next words were much gentler. “It worked before remember?”

Shaun sighed. “Fine.” He slung one of Desmond’s arms over his shoulders, and he and Bill hauled him over to a stone bench.

Rebecca booted the animus. “Desmond? Do you hear us?”

A strained voice came from the speakers. “Uh… yeah. What happened?”

“The temple triggered a bleed effect and you collapse,” Bill explained.

Desmond let out a sigh. “And naturally you drop me into the animus. Instead of… Oh, I don’t know… Making sure I was okay?”

Bill opened his mouth to answer but Rebecca jumped in. “Shaun gave you a once over but you wouldn’t wake up. It was the only other thing we could think of.”

Bill glared at her. “It appeared the temple had been communicating with you. If we waited to act any longer the connection might have been lost.”

There was a pause that Shaun thought he shouldn’t have been able to read since there were no physical cues attached. But he could hear the disappointment in the silence. When Desmond next spoke it was dismissive. “Fine. I know what I’m looking for, by the way. It’s a key. Not that I know where to look for it. That’s probably why she triggered the bleeding effect.”

Shaun piped in then, curious. “She?”

“Juno...”

They watch the bit of Haytham’s DNA sequence that Juno had dropped him in with interest and then the truth bomb hits them. The ancestor is a Templar. Of course he is. Couldn’t just be a nice normal ancestor. That’s not how the world worked. Desmond came out of the animus, looking drained. “The key must be the amulet Haytham took from London.”

“We may know what it looks like but we’re no closer to finding it. Desmond, you need to keep going.”

Desmond opened his mouth to probably make one of his smart ass remarks when Shaun jumped in. “I know we’re on a time crunch, what with the sun being a literal time bomb, but Desmond has been in the animus for days. Some real world time would do him good.” Bill looked about to argue and Shaun cut him off again. “We all know the stakes. But unless you want to jump in the animus and give it a try, I suggest a break.” Shaun walked over to one of the computers. “Besides, we need to get the temple up and running again. The place seems to be powered by… batteries, I guess is the closest word for it. I’m going to see if I can locate some more.”

Shaun finally looked Desmond in the eye and the assassin was practically glowing at him. “Great.”

He shrugged. “It’s up to you. Take a look around, hop back in the animus, sleep. Again. Totally up to you.”

Desmond suddenly grabbed his wrist. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

Shaun frowned, confused. He really should research that thing on New York for the next ancestor they were plunging Desmond into. But Desmond’s brown eyes were pleading and Shaun felt himself caving. He let Desmond drag him away from his console and into one of the side chambers they’d seen on the way in.

Once they were out of sight, Desmond let go of his hand and turned. Suddenly, he looked uncertain. And Shaun waited to see if the younger assassin would find words. “Hi,” Desmond breathed out, laughing a little.

Shaun snorted. “Hi,” he said back, a little breathless from laughter. They didn’t get to do this in the van when he woke up. They had to get in the Temple. They had to unlock it. This was a little more time stolen for just them.

“I was out a while, huh?”

“A few days, yeah. We were worried.” He didn’t say ‘I’ because they were all worried. Not just him. It would be stupid not to include the others.

“I saw Ezio’s life play out. Not to the end, but I met Sophia.”

Shaun raised an eyebrow. “Did you now?”

“Yeah, I see why he liked her. She was clever and beautiful. Reminded me of someone else he knew.” Desmond trailed off, sighing. “He asked me to make his life worth the sacrifice. I got the feeling he meant more than the bloodshed.”

Shaun nodded. Desmond sounded so different—older then he used to. “I’m glad he found peace.”

“No, he regretted not taking the time with Leo that he could. But it didn’t hurt as much.” Desmond ran a hand down his face. “How is it that every time I try to talk I end up feeling like an idiot?”

“Probably because you’re a bit of an idiot. No worries. I won’t hold it against you.”

And Desmond grinned. “You’re an ass.”

“Ah, but I bet you missed me, stuck in the animus without my brilliance to guide you.”

“Yeah, I could use some Turkish translation. And a running joke about Istanbul and Constantinople.” But Desmond’s whole face softened. “I’m sure you enjoyed the quiet.”

For a second, Shaun was going to make a cutting remark but that wasn’t what happened. He had no idea what he was doing but instead of his usual bit of sarcasm, he was leaning forward, an invitation he hoped Desmond would take. “I hated the quiet,” Shaun whispered, watching Desmond’s lips. “I _hated_ it.”

Desmond licked his lips and that was it. Shaun closed the gap, pressing his lips to Desmond’s. It was quick, a light peck hello, keeping the rest of the distance between them.

Shaun pulled away and Desmond was smiling. “You knew.”

He shrugged. “Ezio gave you away a long time ago.”

Desmond frowned. “Oh really.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t ‘til I sorted out what was happening between us that I realized what it meant.”

“I heard some stuff… in the animus. Stuff going on in the world.” Desmond stepped closer. “What exactly was happening between us?”

Shaun shrugged, feeling lighter than he had in a while. “Would you like to go out for coffee?” Desmond snorted. “Obviously not now. We do have a world to save. But perhaps after? Once there’s time.”

Desmond laced their fingers together. “Well, I’ll have to check my schedule but I’m sure we can figure it out.”

Shaun nodded. “Great. It’s a date then.”

“Yeah. It’s a date.”

A loud cough interrupted them and they both took a step back from each other. Rebecca appeared in the entryway. “Your dad’s looking for you, Desmond.”

Shaun turned to glare at her. “Thank you, Becky. Now if you could give us a second.”

She rolled her eyes and left again, mumbling, “Like I want to watch you two losers make out, anyway.”

That sounded like a brilliant idea; the making out, not her watching. Once again alone, Shaun surged forward and kissed Desmond, this time crowding him against the chamber wall. Desmond’s arms snaked around his neck, gripping him tight, pressing his tongue out to meet Shaun’s.

Oh, Shaun was in trouble. Desmond fit against him perfectly. The only thing that snapped him out of it was the sound of footsteps coming from the main chamber. He pulled away with a sigh.

Desmond grinned. “My dad is going to hate this.”

“He’s already been giving me the side eye since Rome.”

He leaned in for one last quick kiss then extracted himself from Desmond, who was grinning dumbly at him. “I wish I could have seen it.”

Shaun snorted. “I'm sure I'll be getting more menacing looks in the future if you're interested.”

Bill rounded the corner, just as they were stepping apart. The older man frowned at them both. “That’s enough down time. Let’s get a move on.”

Shaun sighed as their boss left them alone once more. “Slave driver. Can’t have five minutes to—“ Desmond cut him off with another kiss.

 


	8. Chapter 8

“ _Testing. One. Two. Three._ ”

Shaun snorted from his seat in the van. He had the schematics to the buildings pulled up on his laptop and was awaiting Rebecca’s feed from the drone. Leave it to Desmond to bring back that old saying. Desmond stepped out of the elevator and into the construction area of the skyscraper. 

Rebecca kicked him as she worked. “Yup. Reading you just fine. Now why don’t you power up the camera?” There was a bit of a delay and then Desmond was on his screen. “I’ve got picture, running diagnostics.... Perfect. I’ve got a nice strong signal.”

If the sight of Desmond brought a dopey grin to Shaun’s face no one could blame him.

Shaun began the tracking program he had. “No more elevator rides from here to the top. Looks like you’re going to have to do it the old fashion way.”

“ _Been meaning to stretch my legs a bit._ ” 

Bill was outside the van on some kind of call. “It’s a shame our first trip out into the world is full of danger and espionage. I was looking forward to getting a real cup of coffee.”

Desmond laughed over the feed and Rebecca glared. “Stop distracting him.”

Shaun put a hand to his heart. “I will have you know that I am always distracting him. Silence won’t stop me.”

“ _He has a point, Becs_ .”

The tech rolled her eyes and grumbled something about getting a room.

“Do you think Bill would object to an overnight stay? Get a hotel. Order dirty movies off pay per view?” Desmond laughed again. Shaun was quite good at that--making Desmond laugh. Desmond slid under a door and Shaun paused. “Oh, that’s a…. Hold still! That’s a lovely view.”

“ _Seriously Shaun, fuck you._ ”

“I’ve been trying, mate. That temple is a little too close quarters though.”

Bill opened the van door just in time to catch the end of his sentence. “Too close quarters for what?”

Shaun didn’t miss a beat. “To get away from Desmond’s snoring, sir. Place echoes for daaaaays.”

Bill looked like he didn’t believe a word of that, but he just grabbed something from his bag and closed the door again. “Have I mentioned how impeccable his timing is?”

Desmond was climbing up the exterior then and it made him nervous. The beams shifted with every jump and one wrong step would have him as jelly on the pavement.

“J _esus_ .” Shaun couldn’t be sure what Desmond was referring too but he felt the same.

“On the bright side, no security to worry about,” Rebecca said.

Shaun glared at Rebecca. “And on the not-so-bright side, the slightest misstep means you’re effectively… paste.”

“ _Every situation has it’s pros and cons… look at you. Amazing ass, and you are an amazing ass_ .”

Shaun laughed, feeling a bit better about the situation, even if just for the moment. ”Well you’re almost there if that’s any consolation.”

“Yeah once you reach the top of the lit up crane you should be high enough to make the jump.”

There was a pause before Desmond responded. “ _Should_ ?”

Rebecca was typing away at something on her computer and distracted. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Well worry about it a little. I’m pretty sure she was high when she was running the numbers.”

That had her kicking him again, but harder. “Shaun!”

He held up his hands in defense. “Joke! A joke!... Or was it.” That time she threw an empty water bottle at him. Desmond reached the top and it was the moment of truth. Shaun was glued to the screen as Rebecca fed Desmond instructions. He hated this and was pretty sure he was shaking. Desmond looked very hesitant to jump off the building.

“Timing is really important here. Too soon or too late and you miss the building.”

Shaun ran a hand over his face. “Comforting.”

“ _Hey, I can do this... No sweat._ ” But he didn’t sound so sure to Shaun. Desmond turned to the camera and gave it a salute before he jumped. 

Shaun, in that moment, realized quite violently that he was very much in love with Desmond.

It was also the moment he realized that in a few seconds he may very well have to watch him turn to goo on the sidewalk.

Time stopped as the assassin hung in the air and Shaun had never been so scared. He’d never loved someone like this. It was agony. Everything focused in on that moment and Desmond was the center of his universe.

Rebecca broke him out of it as she shouted. “Open your chute now! Open it now! Desmond!”

Shaun gripped his knees and watched as Desmond’s chute opened and he guided it to the building. After a few tense moments, Desmond landed roughly on the roof but in one piece. “I hate you sometimes.” Shaun whispered as he put his head in his hands. 

“ _Lies._ ”

Desmond wasn’t wrong. It was a total lie. He hated that Desmond was in near constant peril. He hated that they were on the run. He hated so much about the life he had once freely chosen to lead. It was all Desmond’s fault. Everything he’d been so certain of was unravelling. 

But lord save him if Desmond wasn’t worth it.

That was when Desmond reached the power source and Daniel Cross showed up. Once Desmond got free and out of the building he hurried to the van and jumped in.

“Who the hell was that?” Desmond was clearly pissed and he had rights to be. He slid into his seat clearly exhausted.

Shaun pinched the bridge of his nose then started the car. “Daniel Cross. Believe it or not he used to be an Assassin.THE Assassin, way I’ve heard it told.Turned out to be a sleeper agent meant to destroy us from the inside.” 

Bill slid in the back of the van and sat across from Desmond. “What’s more important is how did he know you were there? We could be compromised.”

Shaun cringed as it occurred to him. “They must have caught me snooping inside their network and sent Cross to see what we were after. I mean, if they knew where the temple was we’d know. Well, we’ll know when we get back there anyway. Doesn’t bode well for any more adventures to the outside world, does it?”

Desmond sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Let’s just head back. For once I’m looking forward to being safely below ground.” There was a slight tremor to his voice that had Shaun concerned to say the least.

“Get some rest. We’ll be back before you know it.” Shaun could almost feel the disapproving glare coming at him from Bill as they got back out on the road and back to the temple. It must have lasted at least thirty minutes before he got back to work. Perhaps he needed to dial back the concern but he found himself caring less and less what the old bastard thought as time went on. When they finally got back Shaun grabbed for Desmond’s hand before he could head back to the animus.

“How about we go find a power socket for that thing? I’ll go with you. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”  
  
“Brilliant idea.” It sounded more like an ‘oh thank God’ and Shaun shared the sentiment.

Shaun caught a glimpse of Bill rolling his eyes at them as they hurried off into the ruins. Perhaps Bill’s eagle vision was better than he thought.

Once they were out of earshot Desmond pushed Shaun up against a wall and kissed him furiously. The assassin shook and Shaun didn’t feel steady himself. He gripped the front of Desmond’s hoodie until his knuckles were white, kissed him until his lips were chapped. Finally, Desmond pulled back, pressing his forehead to Shaun’s.

Shaun sighed. “I was sure you were going to end up a pancake on the sidewalk.”

Desmond ran a thumb over Shaun’s cheek. “So little faith in me?”

“You? No, I have more faith in you than anything in the world. But the way that my life has gone? It would not be the first time something good I had turned viciously sour.” Shaun wrapped his arms around Desmond’s waist and held. “Everything is trying to take you from me. I won’t let them.”

Desmond put a hand on the back of Shaun’s head, scratching lightly at his hair. “Not much can be done about gravity.” 

Shaun laughed sadly. “No… not much can, I suppose. I’ve just had this bad feeling-- from the beginning, and then every time you find a way to get out of danger… It gets worse.”

Desmond pulled back so he could look at Shaun. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Don’t make promises like that. Our lives can’t afford those.”

Desmond held his pinky out, finally smiling. “Can’t hurt to try.”

Shaun distracted Desmond with another kiss instead of taking the promise. He wouldn’t let himself hope that much. It might not hurt to try but to fail? He wouldn’t come out the other side of that the same.

That is to assume he’d come out of it at all.

So he kissed him like the world was going to disappear.  
  
Because if they failed? It just might.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been playing Unity (my first game since III) and the lack of Desmond had me sad.
> 
> Also it had nearly been a year.
> 
> So despite a broken laptop I managed to write the chapter.
> 
> Hope you liked it.


End file.
